


Steadfast

by Chromophilic_Daydream



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Recovery, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-03
Packaged: 2019-07-24 17:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16179578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chromophilic_Daydream/pseuds/Chromophilic_Daydream
Summary: The monster inside was one Shiho wanted to slay. She wanted to wrangle it from Ann’s body. This angry creature that she had, undoubtedly, stirred when she took that step off the edge of the school roof.





	Steadfast

**Author's Note:**

> My piece for the Volleystarzine on tumblr. I'm was happy to be accepted into it and it was fun writing Shiho and Ann!

She knew Ann probably hated it when she requested her presence at her physical therapy appointments. Not that Ann ever said anything to that effect: never complained about having to stand to the side; never told her she could no longer watch her trying to relearn how to balance and walk again; never cried to her about how painful it was to see her fall down so often during her sessions.

However, she could sense the unrest in Ann’s usual placid gaze when she caught it. Crystal blue and calm like a glassy lake that she could see the very bottom of. Only— there was something else. Something sinister lurked in the depths of those usually vibrant eyes. Some monster causing a ripple of the surface of tranquility. It chilled her.

It captivated her.

And it totally gave away whatever mask Ann was trying to put on in front of her. The downcast turn of her lips and the way her shoulders went rigid while she sat in observation. It was a different sort of rage than she had seen before. No, this wasn’t like some bullies mocking their walks home from school. This time it was deep-seeded and twisted inside of her. And Shiho got just a glimpse of what dwelled in her best friend every time she fell. It flashed darkly in Ann’s face, her lips tightening to a thin line, fist clenched at her side.

The monster inside was one Shiho wanted to slay. She wanted to wrangle it from Ann’s body. This angry creature that she had, undoubtedly, stirred when she took that step off the edge of the school roof.

But while whatever dark monster awoke inside of Ann when she jumped, Ann was also Shiho’s lighthouse. She flickered a signal of hope for her throughout the murky ocean of uncertainty she was trying desperately to swim through.

It didn’t lessened the pain to know that Ann was watching her. But It made her push harder to keep climbing to her feet. She never wanted to fall again and she was going to show Ann that. No matter how long that took. She would never sink again.

So, it made her try harder to put that rage that resided in Ann back to sleep. She was too beautiful to be marred by such disgust.

It was uncomfortable—disconcerting even—to know that her actions hurt Ann. That her pain was shoveled onto Ann’s consciousness as she slept for weeks in blissful ignorance. She knew she was lonely, she knew she was scared…

And everytime Shiho tried to talk to her about it Ann plastered on a smile that never reached her eyes. She waved off Shiho’s apologies with a stiff hand and quivering words that always reminded her that, thankfully, Ann never set her heart on being an actress.

So instead of talking it was easier to just keep trying, to prove that she was making an effort to get better for her own sake. That way Ann could truly smile again.

Smile at  _ her _ .

The pain medicine the doctors switched her to was to ensure that she did not become reliant on the numb feeling that seized her body. She missed that already. The new dosage made her legs restless, like she wanted to run away all over again. Coupled with physical therapy, the adjustment period was weighing on her, dragging her knees down towards the ground more so than the week before. Her doctor reassured her that it was only due to the medicine.

She promised Ann the same thing when she asked.

But Shiho looked at it as if she were crouching down to leap, spiking a volleyball over an invisible net. Right into Kamoshida’s face even. Like he had done to her many times. She wished she could have gotten him back just once before he was put behind bars.

However, the thought helped during therapy and gave her more of an urge to fight on. 

But sleep was a different story. Her legs burned from exertion at the end of her sessions, and her mind was spiraling with doubt each time... that she’d ever be able to function again. That she’d ever recover and healed both physically and mentally.

“Ann,” Shiho rubbed her sleep-deprived eyes as she settled down into the stiff mattress that still hadn’t gotten the slightest bit more comfortable in the last few weeks.

The blonde girl sank beside her and hummed her acknowledgment before leaning towards Shiho. “What’s up?”

“Can you stay today?” She asked, trying to ignore the jitters that had started to ebb at her nerves in her legs. “If you have something to do with Sakamoto and Kur-”

Ann interrupted her with a quick shake of her head. “I can stay today. We… aren’t doing anything again for a while, I think.. So I’m free! I can come to see you every day!” The tremble in her voice did not go unnoticed. Shiho decided to let it slide in favor of rubbing her calves instead of drawing attention to the deadened tone of Ann’s words.

“Thank you.” She shot her a smile and leaned back into the pillow. “I think I sleep better when you’re here.”

“That’s because I have a relaxing aura, huh?”

“No, it’s because you tell me the same stories over and over again and I get bored.” She teased instantly, causing Ann to huff and glare at her.

“Hey! Shut up, jerk.” She playfully smacked her arm and they both laughed gently. “I can’t go a day without you making fun of me, can I?”

Shiho snickered and gave a thin shrug in response. “I don’t know, maybe tell me a new story and we will see.”

Ann tapped her lip in thought before those ice blue eyes lit up like lightning had struck her. “I have a new one I can tell you.”

“Is it how Sakamoto still owes you money from middle school—”

“No! It’s about us!” Ann held up her finger to silence her. “Well— kinda. I can make it more interesting. Give me a minute.”

She could almost see the wheels turning in Ann’s head as she thought. She preferred that to the creature of absolute rage that seemed to have a hold on Ann's heart.

"Okay, got it." The chipper tune to her best friend's voice was back and Shiho felt her tension begin to melt away, her limbs looser and her mind at ease as Ann began to speak.

"Once upon a time—"

She listened intently as Ann told a story of a band of misfits who attempted to slay an evil dragon who dared hurt innocent villagers. She spoke intently of the heroes battling their way through a giant castle to avenge their friend who had suffered at the hands of the terrible beast. As she told the story, she described a woman dressed in a bold, stated red who granted the pitiful creature mercy as he would be brought to justice for his crimes against the village. The dragon should not be killed so it could suffer just as the woman in red suffered from the almost loss of her closest companion.

"And then?" Shiho asked, a bit surprised at herself about how eager she sounded as Ann's voice trailed off. Even more surprising was just how heavy her eyes felt. She rubbed them again, this time with the objective of staying awake.

Ann fished her fingers through her hair and bit her lip. "And then the dragon paid for his crimes! The end."

She let out a deep sigh and leaned back into her pillows. "Ann."

"It was a cool story, right?"

"It was the lamest thing I've ever heard." She smiled warmly at her.

"What? No, it wasn't!"

"It was. It made no sense. Why didn't the group of bandits just kill the dragon? Could a dragon even be tried in a court of law? How would they even contain it? It's a  _ dragon _ , Ann."

The frustrated flush that crept on Ann's cheeks made Shiho smile wider. It was so easy to rile her up.

"Don't be so mean!"

"Well you did your job, I'm really tired now. You suck at storytelling."

Ann leaned forward until they were just inches away from each other. "I make up this cool story just for you and you have the nerve to tell me I suck?"

Shiho nodded, not once looking away from those stunning eyes. She was swimming in their warmth, this time not once seeing that glimmer of that sinister monster. Ann was so close to her that she could feel her quickened breath on her lips. Their distance didn't bother her though, it never bothered her that Ann was close to her. Especially like this.

It was never a secret that they liked each other. It was just a sentiment that was left unexpressed by words. However, with everything else that had happened since the beginning of the year, those feelings got muddled by murky doubt and fear.

She was free from that fear now. And so she closed the gap between their lips with a slight movement and kissed Ann gently for the first time.

The look on her face was one that would be with Shiho for as long as she lived. Which, she decided, would be for a very long time. Ann's cheeks were stained the color of the sunset over the city. Her lips parted and shone slightly in the harsh light of the hospital. And her eyes, watery and wide. Even so, she looked absolutely beautiful.

"The woman in red was pretty cool though." The grin on Shiho's face was starting to burn the corners of her mouth. "You can tell me about her anytime, okay?"

Ann wrapped her up instantly and held her there, her mask of composure crumbling and falling to the wayside as Shiho hugged her tightly. She decided not to call attention to the quake of Ann’s shoulders and the stuttered sob that was dampening Shiho’s shirt.

"You better be around to listen to my stupid stories about her then." 

"I promise, I promise."

Anything to quell that anger that resided both of them. Anything to slay the dragon that threatened to ruin them both.

Anything for their happiness.

It made her push harder to keep climbing to her feet. She never wanted to fall again and she was going to show Ann that. 

No matter how long it took... 

  
  



End file.
